By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Sidelining Jamal Murray due to a right hamstring injury, the Denver Nuggets rebounded with an impressive comeback against the New Orleans Pelicans. From a 20-point hole to securing the win, 134-116, in Ball Arena on Monday.
Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double, his 108th in the NBA. Packing 35 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists, he passed LeBron James and Jason Kidd to sit fourth, 30 triple-doubles behind third Magic Johnson in the all-time list. Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas produced six points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and one block for the Pels that played without CJ McCollum.
A dominating display for Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks coming back from an early deficit as well. The Freak tallied 36 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal plus two key blocks down the stretch leading to the road win, 129-125, versus the Brooklyn Nets. His brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo did not leave the bench.
Elsewhere, Slovenian Luka Doncic had 29 points, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Orlando Magic, 117-102. German Maxi Kleber (toe) remained sidelined. For the hosts, German Moritz Wagner logged 19 points, German Franz Wagner 12 points, and Georgian Goga Bitadze seven points.
The remaining European showings
Detroit Pistons – Golden State Warriors 109-120 (Killian Hayes 21pts, 7ast, 4reb, 1stl, 1blk, Malcolm Cazalon DNP, Bojan Bogdanovic INJ – Dario Saric 12pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1stl, Usman Garuba INA)
Indiana Pacers – San Antonio Spurs 152-111 (Daniel Theis DNP – Victor Wembanyama 13pts, 10reb, 2blk, 1stl, Cedi Osman 6pts, 3reb, 2ast, 1stl, Jeremy Sochan 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, Sandro Mamukelashvili 5pts, 4teb, 1ast, Sidy Cissoko INA)
Philadelphia 76ers – Washington Wizards 146-128 (Nicolas Batum 11pts, 2reb, 1ast, Furkan Korkmaz 1pts, reb, 2ast – Deni Avdija 16pts, 6ast, 5reb, 1stl, Bilal Coulibaly 10pts, 3reb, 1blk, Danilo Gallinari 1pts, 1reb)
Miami Heat – Los Angeles Lakers 108-107 (Nikola Jovic ILL)
New York Knicks – Los Angeles Clippers 111-97 (Isaiah Hartenstein 6pts, 3reb, 2ast, 2stl, Evan Fournier DNP, Duane Washington Jr. INA – Ivica Zubac 8pts, 7reb, 2blk, 1stl, Moussa Diabate 4pts)
Chicago Bulls – Utah Jazz 130-113 (Nikola Vucevic 10pts, 8reb, 4ast, 1stl, 1blk, Onuralp Bitim INA – Lauri Markkanen 29pts, 5reb, 3ast, 1blk, Luka Samanic 3pts, 1reb, 1ast, Omer Yurtseven 2pts, 1blk, Simone Fontecchio 0pts)
Houston Rockets – Sacramento Kings 122-97 (Alperen Sengun 17pts, 12ast, 8reb, 1stl, Boban Marjanovic 2ast, 1reb, 1blk – Domantas Sabonis 8pts, 8reb, 5ast, Sasha Vezenkov 2pts, 1ast, Alex Len 3reb, 1ast, 1blk, Filip Petrusev DNP)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Boston Celtics 114-109 OT (Rudy Gobert 14pts, 12reb, 1ast, 1blk, Luka Garza INA – Kristaps Porzingis 20pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1stl, 1blk, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 0pts, Neemias Queta INJ)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Atlanta Hawks 126-117 (Ousmane Dieng 3pts, 2reb, Davis Bertans DNP, Vasilije Micic DNP, Aleksej Pokusevski DNP, Olivier Sarr INA – Bogdan Bogdanovic 17pts, 3ast, 2reb, 2st, Clint Capela 6pts, 12reb, 2blk, 1stl)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 5-1
2. Philadelphia 76ers 5-1
3. Milwaukee Bucks 4-2
4. Atlanta Hawks 4-3
5. Indiana Pacers 4-3
6. Orlando Magic 4-3
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 3-4
8. New York Knicks 3-4
9. Toronto Raptors 3-4
10. Brooklyn Nets 3-4
11. Miami Heat 3-4
12. Chicago Bulls 3-5
13. Charlotte Hornets 2-4
14. Detroit Pistons 2-6
15. Washington Wizards 1-5
Western Conference
1. Denver Nuggets 7-1
2. Dallas Mavericks 6-1
3. Golden State Warriors 6-2
4. Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2
5. New Orleans Pelicans 4-3
6. Oklahoma City Thunder 4-3
7. Los Angeles Clippers 3-3
8. Houston Rockets 3-3
9. Phoenix Suns 3-4
10. Los Angeles Lakers 3-4
11. San Antonio Spurs 3-4
12. Portland Trail Blazers 3-4
13. Sacramento Kings 2-4
14. Utah Jazz 2-6
15. Memphis Grizzlies 1-6
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images